There are numerous fence post driving assemblies that have been developed. A representative sample of the type of fence post driving assembly used in combination with a vehicle having a hydraulically powered or wench powered capability is shown in the following patents:
______________________________________ 2,456,852 2,681,789 2,551,896 2,683,019 2,613,912 2,888,245 2,634,092 3,079,129 2,645,453 3,129,924 2,657,010 ______________________________________
The U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,645,453; 2,657,010; 2,888,245; 3,079,129; and 3,129,924 disclose the specific type of fence post driving assembly which used post engagement means for directly contacting the top of the fence post to be driven into the ground. That is, the type of fence post driving mechanism as disclosed in these patents have a top cap portion which engages the top of the fence post to be driven downwardly. One of the problems that is associated with this known type of driving assembly is that with the amount of force required to push the fence post into the ground, the fence post itself will bend with all of the force being exerted at the top thereof. This is particularly true when using the kind of forces that are associated with a vehicle such as a tractor having various types of hydraulic equipment associated therewith.
More specifically, the U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,245 discloses the type of fence post that is particularly being driven with the post driving assembly as disclosed herein. That is, the fence post is composed of metal and has a plurality of webbed flange members in angular disposition with respect to each other. In this particular instance, the cross-section of the fence post is a T-shaped configuration. When using the type cap member such as that disclosed in the Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,245, the post will bend under the force required to drive the post into the ground. Furthermore, the specific assembly as disclosed here requires the tractor to have a front end loader which must be used in combination with this fence post driving mechanism. This type of front end loading equipment is not a standard piece of equipment on most tractors. Consequently, the specific type of mechanism disclosed in this U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,245 is not widely useable.
None of the prior art fence driving assemblies disclose the basic problem of the fence post of the type being driven in this instance bending while the driving is being effectuated. The metal fence posts are particularly used for installing farm fences. The most popular method, in spite of all of the proposed automatic or hydraulically operated assemblies of the prior art, is still the hand driving method. The second most popular method is to simply use a hydraulic loader and pushing the post into the ground while another person holds onto it. This latter type of operation is extremely dangerous to the person who is holding the fence post while the front end loader of the tractor is used to push downwardly onto the top of the fence post. Furthermore, in using this latter method, the depth to which the fence post is driven cannot be controlled to any acceptable degree of uniformity.